


Sparrowhawk

by butterflyslinky



Series: The House of Wayne-El [11]
Category: DCU
Genre: Alternate Universe, Canon-Typical Violence, Chronic Pain, Drug Use, Mpreg, Multi, Trans Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-02
Updated: 2019-02-02
Packaged: 2019-10-20 17:59:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17626970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/butterflyslinky/pseuds/butterflyslinky
Summary: Everything is back to normal, or almost. Now if only Tim could find his place again.





	Sparrowhawk

Tim sat at the kitchen table, staring down at his uniform.

It was rather bedraggled after his time with the League of Assassins, and the four months since then hadn’t done it any favors. All of Alfred’s mending and washing couldn’t turn the Red Robin costume into anything but what it was--scraps of cloth held together by lost dreams.

Dick came into the kitchen, Damian trailing behind him. Damian had been rather quiet ever since Bruce had returned, though whether it was just trying to adjust to life going back to almost normal or lingering weakness from losing his spleen, Tim wasn’t sure.

“Hey, Red,” Dick said, ruffling Tim’s hair. “What’s on your mind?”

Tim huffed out a breath. “Just thinking.”

“About what?” Damian asked, sitting down across from him.

“About being Red Robin,” Tim said. “I mean...it’s not really its own identity, is it? And...and I can’t keep dragging you down with me by association.”

“You were doing that before I was Robin,” Damian said, but there was no venom in his voice.

“New identities are always hard,” Dick said, jumping in before an argument could break out. “Do you have a general idea of your identity?”

“I mean...it should probably stay bird-themed,” Tim said musingly. “Wouldn’t want to stick out too much.”

Dick hummed a bit. “Plenty of birds to choose from,” he said.

“Yeah,” Tim said.

They were quiet for a few minutes before the door opened and Jason came in, still in costume but with his helmet off. “Brotherly bonding time?” Jason asked, hopping up on the counter.

“So to speak,” Dick said. “Tim’s figuring out who he is.”

“Have you tried Hari Krishna?” Jason asked with mock sincerity.

Tim rolled his eyes. “New superhero identity, genius,” he snapped. “Red Robin is a bit derivative...Damian deserves to keep Robin to himself and I shouldn’t be a reflection of that.”

“Oh, so the burger jokes had nothing to do with it?”

“They didn’t help,” Tim admitted. “Anyway, I’ll probably stick with the bird theme.”

“Why? I didn’t.”

“Jason, there is a bird on your chest right now.”

“It’s a bat. And that’s only because branding is important. Big thing with wings says I’m one of the good guys and the people crazier than me should watch out.”

“It also means you’re not supposed to shoot people,” Dick pointed out.

“Working on that.” Jason smirked at Dick for a moment. “Anyway, we’re supposed to be figuring out the baby bird’s identity, not resolving my issues.”

“Right,” Dick said. “Birds...Cardinal?”

“What, like I’m an athlete?”

“Pidgeon?” Damian suggested.

“Can we take this seriously?”

“Oh, you want serious?” Jason said. “How about Great Tit?”

“Jason!” both Tim and Dick snapped, though Damian giggled.

Jason grinned for a moment. “Sorry, I had to,” he said. “That’d sooner be my bird name anyway.”

“If you aren’t going to be helpful, you can go away,” Tim said.

“Fine, fine,” Jason said. “What about Sparrowhawk?”

Tim went quiet for a moment. “Like in Earthsea?” he said.

“Well...yeah,” Jason said. “I read those to you, didn’t I?”

“Yeah,” Tim said. “Yeah, you did...that was what taught me how important a name is...I always…”

“Sparrowhawk defeated the villain with a name,” Jason said. “Because sometimes...a name is the most powerful thing in the world.”

“It is,” Tim said. “It really is.” He smiled. “Sparrowhawk, then.”

Dick smiled as well. “I’ll have Oracle update the records.”

*

Tim looked over the printout before he looked back at Bruce and shook his head. Bruce looked grim, but not shocked.

“So what’s the diagnosis, Doc?” Conner called from the medical cot.

“Not good,” Tim said.

“Is it going to kill me?”

“If you weren’t half-human, it would have already,” Bruce said. “Ironically enough.”

Conner went pale. “What do you mean?”

“There’s enough kryptonite in your bloodstream to level Kandor if it was full sized,” Tim said. “How are you not having a seizure and dying right now?”

“I guess his counter-measures did their job,” Conner said.

“They shouldn’t have,” Bruce said. “He also suppressed your human side...better strength and reflexes, yes, but barely enough Earth genes left to keep the radiation from killing you.”

“So...I’m going to die.” Conner was obviously struggling not to cry, but Tim knew it was a close thing.

“Not immediately,” Bruce said. “But it’s going to take time to fix this.”

“If we can fix it,” Tim said. “We can’t break down the kryptonite safely or quickly, so our best bet would be to get your human genes back up to where they were, if not higher. But that would take years, and if we didn’t do it very precisely, it could go horribly wrong.”

“Wrong how?”

‘Well...we could go too far the other way,” Bruce said. “Completely suppress your Kryptonian side...which would mean no more superpowers except maybe the TTK. The kryptonite would still kill you, but it would take longer. Or if we did it very, very wrong...trying could kill you much faster.”

Conner leaned his head in his hands. “So what do we do?” he asked. “It already hurts so much…”

Bruce looked very awkward and uncertain. Tim moved forward and wrapped his arms around Conner, letting his brother lean on him. “We’ll find a way,” Tim said. “Whatever it takes…we’ll find a way to fix it.”

“The half-life of kryptonite is a million years,” Conner said. “Even if I just...stayed in quarantine down here until then, I’d die before it was completely gone.”

“I mean…” Tim struggled. “If we put you in a coma, we might be able to…”

“What? Run tests for years on end without worrying if I’m in pain? Put me in a glass coffin away from everything? Let me live out my life without thought or mind?” Conner pulled back to glare at him. “I’d rather you just kill me now.”

“Not happening,” Tim said.

“The most I can do right now is make something for the pain,” Bruce said. “It would be temporary, and I probably wouldn’t let you have unrestricted access to it, but at least something that can help on the worst days.”

Conner sighed. “I guess that will have to do,” he said. “At least for now.”

“Are you having any other symptoms?” Bruce asked.

“I mean...I’m not having seizures yet and I’m still able to eat and use my powers,” Conner said. “On the really bad days, it can get to the point of nausea, but so far no actual vomiting. I do get tired more easily, but I’m able to sleep most nights...that enough?”

“For now,” Bruce said. “Let me know if anything changes.”

Conner hesitated. “Why would I keep TTK if you took the rest of my powers?” he asked.

“The TTK seems to come from a mutated metagene,” Bruce said. “It seems that Luthor is a carrier. For him, it just means a slightly superior intelligence, but when it was combined with the Kryptonian DNA, it…changed. But since it came from your human side, it’s about the only thing we’d be able to preserve if we rebuilt your genetics from the ground up.”

Conner nodded and stood up. “Am I dismissed?”

“Yes,” Bruce said.

Tim followed Conner out of the Cave and back onto the street. They didn’t speak until they were back in Gotham proper, on a relatively private rooftop.

“So...you’re Sparrowhawk now,” Conner said.

Tim shrugged. “Trying it out.”

“It sounds pretty cool,” Conner said. “New costume?”

“Lucius is putting together a few ideas,” Tim said. “Something that’s less...restrictive.”

“You mean something that won’t make us lose track of you when you run off again?”

“Yeah.” Tim huffed a bit. “I can’t do that again...not to Steph, not to Papa.”

“Good.”

“I’m calling the team back next week...you coming?”

“Cassie will make me whether I want to or not...still, suppose we’ve been away too long.”

“True...they probably don’t even need us anymore.”

“No,” Conner said. “They don’t need us...but they never needed us, Tim. We needed them to feel like...like we were as good as him. That we were real heroes. We made that team because we didn’t want to be sidekicks. And now...we’re not sidekicks anymore. We’ve grown up...Damian and Jon can take over being Robin and Superboy.”

“Yeah,” Tim said. “So who will Flamebird and Sparrowhawk be?”

“I don’t know.” Conner stared out over Gotham. “I guess...we’ll just have to find out.”

*

The Watchtower felt strange. Two years away, and everything seemed just out of place.

Or maybe it was just Tim out of place.

He looked at his team, assembled in their usual room. They had all changed, for all that they were still them. Cassie and Bart looked between angry and relieved when Tim stood before them, his new gold mask over his eyes.

“Thank you for coming,” he said.

There was just awkward silence for a good long minute. And that was _wrong_ , they had never been silent like this before. It had never been hard to talk to them before.

Tim glanced at Steph, who was unreadable as ever under her mask, and Cass, the blank Batgirl mask betraying nothing. Conner was more openly shaking, looking scared. Bart seemed hopeful enough, and Cassie...well, Cassie was free to glare all she liked.

Finally, Tim looked down. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’m sorry for everything.”

There was another moment of silence before Cassie stood up. She crossed the room to Tim and stared down at him for a long time before she silently pulled him into a hug.

Tim was shocked, but then his arms came up around her and he leaned into it. After a moment, the others moved around them, all of them encasing each other in a tight embrace. They stood like that for a long time, hugging each other tight.

“Welcome home,” Cassie whispered.

“Thank you,” Bart said. “For coming back to your family.”

“We missed you,” Cass added.

Tim clung to them, finally, finally safe. “I’m sorry,” he sobbed. “I’m so sorry…”

“It’s okay, Tim,” Cassie said. “You did what you needed to do.”

“It…”

“It’s over.” Conner clutched at Tim. “Now we just need to choose a new team name...we’re all grown up now.”

“Yeah,” Tim said. “We’ll have to think about that.”

*

Tim knocked on the door to Bruce’s office, feeling a bit confused.

“Come in.”

Tim slipped inside and stood straight before his father’s desk. “You wanted to see me?”

“Yes.” Bruce set down the papers he was going through and sighed. “Being away for the last two years has been...well, it was shit.”

“Yeah,” Tim said. “For all of us.”

“Yes...and I’m so sorry.”

“It wasn’t your fault.”

Bruce shrugged a bit. “It wasn’t anyone’s fault, but it still happened. But coming back two years later...well, I don’t really know what’s going on anymore. The JLA could brief me on most superhero work, but I have more than just Batman to worry about.”

Tim nodded slowly. “So...why did you call me?”

“I know you had ears to the ground and strings in your hands while you were...busy,” Bruce said. “And I know that you know more about what’s happening with Wayne Enterprises than I do now...possibly more than I ever really did. And over the last two years, it’s been a bit...well, quite frankly, neither Dick nor Clark is any good at running a business.”

Tim nodded again. “Neither of them wanted to,” he said. “Dick mostly just signed off on anything that wasn’t handed to him by a supervillain.”

“Yes, well,” Bruce said. “He’s clever, but not cut out for the company. And I don’t think I can reasonably run it myself anymore. I can’t ask Conner or Jason to do it, which brings us to you.”

Tim blinked. “Me?”

“I know you understand what’s happening,” Bruce said. “And I know that you love fixing things, and that you will fix them better than before. You’re young, you’re brilliant, and to be frank, I would prefer to give you a job to do that would keep you busy in Gotham.”

“So you want me to be the CEO of a huge company?!”

“If you can...Lucius refused the promotion and I don’t want to hire outside the company.”

Tim was silent for a moment.

“Please, Tim,” Bruce said. “I don’t have anyone else I can trust with it.”

Tim sighed. “All right,” he said. “I’ll do it. As long as it doesn’t interfere with being Sparrowhawk.”

“I managed to do both,” Bruce said. “I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

*

“Steph, not everything can be purple!”

“It’s my wedding!”

“It’s my wedding too and I say that there needs to be an accent color!”

“Black?”

“Steph!”

“What? You were born goth, this should be acceptable!”

A soft cough interrupted the argument. Tim and Steph turned away from the fabric samples to see Bruce leaning in the doorway.

“If you two can put aside this stimulating conversation for a bit, I have a mission for you.”

Tim blushed a bit. “Just us?”

“And your team...whatever you’re calling yourselves now that you’re all adults.”

“Work in progress,” Tim mumbled.

“Right...Watchtower, ten minutes.”

Ten minutes later, Sparrowhawk and Spoiler had joined their team and Batman. Tim reflected that it was a strange adjustment--strange, but good.

Batman looked them all over, stoic as ever, but he did seem a bit softer around the mouth now. “And there’s six,” he said. “Good. There’s been a rash of robberies across Metropolis recently, and since Superman’s down for the count, we need more boots on the ground.”

“And let me guess,” Conner said. “It’s something that absolutely cannot be handled by the police.”

“They haven’t managed so far,” Batman said. “And there’s enough of a pattern to make us think it’s all one person.”

Cassie picked up the case file. “Upholstery, plastics, electronics...Toymaker?”

“That’s my guess,” Batman said. “So far nothing’s come of it, but I’d rather it stop before it does. I’ll leave the mission details to you, but please try to keep the fire to a minimum this time.”

“No promises,” Bart said. “But we’ll do our best.”

“Good.” Batman nodded. “I need to get back to Gotham now...if anything, and I do mean *anything* goes wrong, alert Oracle at once for help.”

Conner rolled his eyes. “We’re not kids anymore. We know how this works.”

Batman didn’t quite glare, but it was a close thing. “You may not be children, but you’re still young. I’m not taking any risks, understood?”

“Perfectly,” Conner said.

Batman nodded and swept out of the room.

There was a pause as everyone turned toward Tim and Steph. Tim glanced up at her, wondering which of them was actually in charge now.

“Probably best to split up,” Steph said after a moment. “Teams of two, check into each shop…” She paused a moment.

“Spoiler, Batgirl, the upholstery shop,” Tim said. “Check all of the ones in Metropolis, see if there’s anything specific. Wonder Girl, Impulse, the plastics. I want details on the grade and what it’s used for. Flamebird, with me, we’re going to go check out the electronics.”

The others nodded and headed out. Tim took a deep breath as he and Conner zeta-ed to Metropolis. They didn’t speak as they went, the last year hanging over them.

It was odd, Tim reflected. Before, he and Conner had always been the best of friends, the closest of brothers. They had talked about everything, anything--it didn’t matter. But now…

What was there to say? Other than dying of slow poison and living in Bludhaven, Tim didn’t even know what Conner was doing these days.

“There are like, fifty electronics stores in Metropolis,” Conner pointed out as they flew over the city. “Do you really think he’ll hit all of them?”

“Good criminals change their targets,” Tim said. “The case file didn’t have anything overly specialized listed, so we’d better cover our bases.”

“If it is just Toymaker fucking around, it should be an easy fight.”

“The Toymaker was still locked up last I checked,” Tim said. “And there’s been no report of a jailbreak lately.”

Conner hummed. “Could be an imitator...or something else.”

“We don’t have enough facts to speculate yet,” Tim said. “Didn’t Batman teach you anything about detective work?”

“He tried,” Conner said. “But you know how that went...besides, I’m better as the dumb muscle to your brains.”

“You’re not dumb,” Tim said softly. “You’ve never been dumb.”

Conner sighed a bit. “Notice you decided to split from Spoiler.”

“She works best with Batgirl,” Tim said. “Besides, it’s better to not have romantic pairs together on missions if possible.”

“Batman and Superman often go together.”

“Yeah, but they can usually keep themselves focused. Spoiler and I have been distracted in the past.”

“You sent Wonder Girl and Impulse off together.”

Tim almost crashed into a church spire. “I thought Wonder Girl was still dating you?!”

“We’re polyamorous,” Conner said. “It’s a threeway deal.”

“Since when?!”

“Since I got back from Luthor.” Conner’s brow furrowed. “I thought you knew...Papa does, Grandma does…”

“It...no one told me.” Tim shook his head a bit. “I mean...if you’re all happy…”

“We are,” Conner said.

“And you’re all living together now?”

“Yeah...rent in Bludhaven is pretty cheap split three ways.”

“Where are you all working these days?”

“Wonder Woman gives Wonder Girl a stipend for being a sidekick...Impulse and I are working at the burger joint.”

“You have a trust fund!”

“I’m not using Batman’s money. I can make my own way.”

“And you’re sure this thing with Impulse and Wonder Girl is a good idea?”

Conner looked at Tim in confusion. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

“I mean...I know you and Wonder Girl have been off and on for a while, but Impulse is…”

“A lot more mature than you remember.”

Tim nodded. “Okay...but when he knocks you up, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“I’m on birth control,” Conner said. “Kara keeps me supplied...and that’s assuming Luthor didn’t fuck up my body too much for it to even be a problem.”

“That’s my point,” Tim said. “Even if your...parts...function...you’re nowhere near healthy enough to have a baby.”

“I know,” Conner said, and Tim was shocked to hear that he was choking up. “I know that I’m never going to get to have...anything. Honestly, though...it’s…” He took a breath. “Sex is about the only thing I’ve found that can get rid of the pain for any length of time...at least enough to sleep a full night. But I doubt...I don’t get a choice about whether I want to have a baby. I don’t get to decide if I can carry one, because I know it would probably kill me. And I hate it. I hate that he did this to me, I hate that he gets to control me even though I left him! He’s rotting in a cell again, and I’m still not free.”

Tim reached out and laid his hand on Conner’s shoulder. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I wish…”

“Not your fault,” Conner said.

Tim nodded. “Okay.” He glanced down. “Coming in for a landing. First shop.”

Conner nodded back and followed.

*

Three hours later, the team met back at the Watchtower, all looking very disheartened.

“Definitely building mannequins,” Cassie said as they settled in. “Probably robotic?”

“Definitely robots,” Tim confirmed. “Hard to say what for, but I doubt it’s anything good.”

“But it’s not the Toymaker,” Conner added. “Not his usual grab-bag unless he took a new electronic engineering course in jail.”

“Why upholstery, though?” Steph asked. “It’s not even particularly durable upholstery, just...furniture stuff. Does this person just want their mannequins to be particularly ugly?”

“It would throw people off,” Bart said.

“Please,” Steph said. “In a city full of people who dress like us, you think upholstery is the most distracting thing?”

“It’s throwing us,” Cass said.

They fell silent for a moment.

“Right,” Tim said. “Looks like we’re going to be doing stake-outs until we catch this person.”

The others groaned. “But Tim, we’ve got a wedding to plan!” Steph whined.

“You can plan it while watching electronics shops,” Cass said. “Each team needs at least one person with superpowers.”

“Just don’t get distracted,” Conner said with a wink.

Tim threw his tablet at him.

*

Two weeks later, they finally struck gold.

“We got him on Fourth Avenue,” Conner said into the comm, though Tim could hear just fine without it. “Can’t identify him. Headed toward West Eighteenth.”

“On it,” Cassie called.

Tim was up at once, Steph clamoring onto his back. “On our way. What’s our description?”

“Some guy,” Conner said. “No weird costume, no gimmick, just dressed in black and wearing a wool cap.”

“Probably a lacky,” Cass added. “But he’ll lead us to the boss.”

“Thanks,” Tim muttered.

They caught up with the rest of the team a few blocks later, all landing in formation around the thief. There was a pause as the thief assessed his position, and then he pulled a small device from his pocket.

Tim dropped Steph and took a defensive stance. “You’re under--!”

Before he could finish his sentence, something stirred in the alley. Tim whirled around to see a large, lurching figure come out of the shadows. Tim had his staff out at once, striking at the figure. He swung hard, using all of his strength…

And felt the bo staff shatter as it struck.

Tim stumbled back, stunned. His hand actually hurt--not like a break, but enough that he noticed.

“Sparrowhawk!”

He turned to see more lurching figures appear, hideous and disfigured--vaguely humanoid but *wrong.* Conner punched one and reeled back almost at once, clutching his hand. Steph and Cass were jumping in, weapons ready, but everything they struck with broke on contact. Cassie hit another and hardly fared better than Conner.

“Sorry, kids,” the thief said. “Gotta run...good luck with my robots.” He turned and started running.

“Impulse, go after him!” Tim shouted.

Bart nodded and took off only for a robot to move in front of him. Bart couldn’t stop and hit it, falling back, unconscious.

Conner swore and dashed to Bart, hefting him over his shoulder. “I suggest retreat!”

Tim glanced around. Six robots, all lurching forward without pause of thought. He sighed and grabbed Steph. “Agreed.”

Cassie picked up Cass and they were off, flying up just as the robots got to the center, all crashing into each other. They didn’t seem damaged at all, only turned and started to move back to their original positions. Tim barely stopped to see them retreat before they were headed back to the Watchtower.

*

“And no one got a picture, at least?”

Tim shook his head. “I could probably describe him for a sketch artist, but that’s it.”

Barbara sighed. “Great...no gimmick, no villain symbol, no photo to match against the database...and he’s got robots that can easily down Young Justice without any particular effort.”

“Whatever he did to that upholstery is killer,” Conner said. “Impulse still has a headache.”

“So what am I supposed to put in the report?”

Tim shrugged. “Responded to robbery at upholstery store on Fourth Avenue, briefly apprehended unidentified criminal, taken out by killer robots. Not that hard.”

“And what am I supposed to tell Superman?” Barbara demanded. “Sorry, Clark, your city is being terrorized by some guy named Phil?”

“We don’t know that’s his name,” Conner mumbled. “And it’s probably best not to tell him anything right now.”

“He still has access to the computers,” Barbara said. “If he didn’t, Bruce would have a much harder time keeping him home.”

“I guess we file him as Some Guy Named Phil, then,” Tim said. “Until we get an actual name. And we’ll keep an eye out for robot attacks in Metropolis.”

“Fine,” Barbara said. “And I’ll up security around here...last thing we need with a baby and a wedding coming up is killer robots.”

*

“Nervous?”

Tim shrugged. “After the last three years, I don’t think I’m capable of nerves anymore. And really, all that’s changing is Steph is going to live here instead of alone, which she should have been doing all along.”

“It is different, though,” Dick said. “I mean...yeah, functionally you two will be the same, but it feels like everything’s changed.”

“I mean…” Tim blushed. “Spiritually, we’ve been married for over a year. This is mostly just...a piece of paper.”

“It’s the most important piece of paper you’ll ever have in your life,” Dick said.

“Unless you have a baby,” Bruce said from the doorway. He smiled at his sons as they got ready. “Tim, come here.”

Tim took a breath and went to his father, who reached down to straighten his tie. “You’ll be fine,” Bruce said. “As long as you love her like she deserves, which I know you do, you will have done your duty.”

Tim nodded. “I’d hug you, but I don’t want to crease this suit.”

Bruce laughed. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s not keep her waiting.”

Tim took another deep breath. “Okay, maybe I am a little nervous.”

Dick laughed and Conner squeezed his shoulder. “We’re with you,” Conner said. “I mean...as far as decisions you’ve made go, this one seems pretty good.”

“That should be our new standard,” Dick said. “On a scale of ‘marry Stephanie Brown’ to ‘handle your daddy issues by becoming a supervillain,’ how bad is your decision?”

“Dick!” Tim protested.

“Where does ‘put on a fursuit and fight crime to deal with trauma’ fall?” Conner asked.

Bruce sighed. “For the last time, Kon, it’s not a fursuit, it’s armor.”

“Point stands,” Conner said.

“All of you, please stop,” Tim said.

“Sorry, Timmy,” Conner said.

They fell silent as they slipped into the ballroom of the manor and went to wait by the altar that had been set up. Tim smiled at Diana, who had arrived to officiate.

“You’re going to get sick of performing marriages here,” he commented.

“Never,” Diana said. She glanced at Conner, who stood just behind Tim. “I hope to perform at least one more here.”

Conner went red. “Um...it’s complicated,” he mumbled.

Diana only gave him a severe look, but before that discussion could continue, everyone was seated and the hall fell quiet.

It was a small gathering.Tim was glad that they had managed to keep the wedding quiet--he didn’t think he could stand it if the press crashed his wedding. As it was, it was only the family and a few other superheroes in attendance. Pru, Z and Owens slipped in through the window just as the crowd fell silent, quiet enough that no one paid them any mind. Tim had precious few friends left from school, and now…

Now it was the best day of his life, and there were perhaps thirty people in the room at all. Tim supposed he should have felt a bit wistful, but really, this was best for them both.

And then the doors open and Steph came in and Tim forgot to breathe.

She was beautiful, dressed in purple and black, her hair teased up and her eyes shining. Tim could only look at her like she was the last thing on Earth as she came to his side.

She smiled at him, joy in every line of her face, and Tim was floating, barely able to listen as Diana read the ceremony. It wasn’t until Conner handed him the rings that Tim was able to find his voice.

“Steph,” he said. “I have loved you since we were tiny...ever since we started kindergarten. You’ve been there for me, even when I didn’t deserve it, and you’ve stayed at my side when most sensible people would have run. You’ve been my best friend, and my teammate, and my wife...and I will love you as long as I live, which with my genetics will be a very, very long time.”

Tim did his best to ignore the faint sobs from the audience, though he did see the tears in Steph’s eyes.

“Tim,” she said. “I have loved you for just as long, from the moment I saw you in the schoolyard with a book as big as you were. You gave me my name, and you’ve always looked after me, even when I didn’t need your protection. You trusted me with our team, and with your life, and that is more than I ever could have imagined. And I will love you until the day I die, and long after that if you will keep me in your heart.”

Diana smiled. “I pronounce you married, bound in life and love,” she said.

Tim kissed Steph and the entire world disappeared.

*

It seemed that, as usual, Dick was right.

Tim woke very late the next morning, the party having gone on late into the night. He smiled as he looked up at Steph, still asleep. Tim curled closer into her chest, breathing deep.

She stirred after a moment. “Morning,” she murmured.

“Good morning,” Tim whispered. He leaned up and kissed her quickly.

Steph wrapped her arms around him, hugging him like a teddy bear. “Don’t want to get up,” she said. “Does anyone expect us to get out of bed today?”

“Not unless there’s an emergency,” Tim said. “Though I will need coffee at some point.”

“What, you don’t have a bell to summon Alfred?”

“I do,” Tim said, really thinking about it for the first time. “But the service bells are mostly just used for emergencies...something about learning to be self-sufficient.”

“Won’t he make an exception?” she asked. “Seeing as it’s the morning after your wedding and you’re technically on your honeymoon?”

Tim thought a moment before he slipped out of bed and dressed. “Here,” he said, tossing a casual travel dress to Steph.

She got up and put it on. “What?”

Tim swept her up in his arms and took off out the window. “Let’s find somewhere with room service,” he said. “Come back in two weeks...let them all wonder.”

Steph laughed and kissed him.

*

“Yer where?!”

“Barcelona.”

“Were y’gonna tell anyone?”

“Probably.”

“Tim…”

“Papa, I promise, we’ll be back in a few weeks. I think Gotham will survive without us.”

“I know Gotham’ll survive. But I worry.”

“Relax. We’ll be back before you have your baby.”

“Y’better be.”

“I wouldn’t miss it,” Tim promised. “Now will you stop shouting?”

“Fine, fine, I’ll leave y’t’it...y’did pack yer shots, right?”

Tim yelped a bit. “Yes, I did,” he said. “Not that I’m worried about it.”

“Jist be careful...yer a bit young and…”

“And I know. I’m going now, Steph’s waiting for me.”

“Alright. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

*

Tim wanted to say that being away for two weeks was a good thing.

It became clear that it was not the moment Conner came in with a report on Some-Guy-Named-Phil’s activities.

“So you know what he’s doing?”

Conner shook his head. “He didn’t really say that much, just worked on robots and occasionally poked us with sharp implements before he let us leave.”

“Let you leave?”

“Okay, Batgirl rescued us. But he didn’t actually hurt us!”

Tim shook his head. “Any progress on the robots?”

“No,” Conner said. “And he’s started adding weapons to them.”

“Fantastic,” Tim muttered. “Well, keep me updated.”

“Sure thing,” Conner said. “Oh, and Bruce dumped a fuckton of WE stuff in that empty office on the third floor...Dick told me to tell you to make sure you get to it soon.”

Tim groaned. “Why did I agree to run that company?”

“Because you’re an idiot,” Conner said affectionately. “And you like having unlimited spending money.”

“You know…” Tim said contemplatively. “I am in the market for a new PA who might want to make more than ten dollars an hour...”

“...is that Dick calling? Sorry, Timmy, gotta run!” Conner was out of the Watchtower before Tim could stop laughing.

*

“Sparrowhawk, report!”

Tim pressed the comm. He had been back on duty for three weeks without incident. “All quiet in Gotham. Am I needed elsewhere?”

“Nightwing and Flamebird asked for backup in Bludhaven...apparently Phil has moved his operations now that Wonder Girl has taken up semi-permanent residence in Metropolis.”

“So he moved to a place with two regular heroes?” Tim took off from the roof of Wayne Enterprises.

“Might be scared of Wonder Woman,” Barbara mused. “Or else he’s trying to make his way closer to Gotham, we have things that would interest him.”

Tim hummed a bit. “Turning off now, I’ll get their position.”

“Good.”

Tim flipped the comm off. “Nightwing, position?”

“Basil and Fern,” Dick called. “He sent five this time.”

Tim sped up and soon landed in the fray. Dick and Conner were already flying around overhead, trying to dodge the robots’ weapons while throwing various Batarangs at the things with little success.

“Any ideas?” Conner called as he dodged another shot from the robot.

“I need a sample first!” Tim said. “If we can just deactivate one to take back for study…”

“Good freaking luck!” Dick shouted as he dove down only to be clubbed across the stomach by a robot arm. Conner was quick enough to catch him before he went into the side of a building.

“Right,” Tim muttered. “Can you two keep them busy while I find an off switch?”

“Do our best,” Conner said.

Dick nodded and straightened up before backflipping over the nearest robot and handspringing through the rest, dodging everything they threw at him. Conner rolled his eyes. “Showoff,” he muttered before he lept over as well, following Dick and taking the blows that Dick wasn’t going to dodge.

Tim waited a moment before he jumped up himself and landed on the shoulders of one robot. It didn’t seem to notice him, too busy shooting at Dick and Conner. Tim pulled a Bat-grenade off his belt and pulled the pin. “Cover!”

Dick flipped out of range as Conner flew up. Tim grit his teeth and rolled just as the grenade went off. It wasn’t a powerful charge, intended to trap criminals rather than kill, but it did what Tim wanted and blasted a hole in the robot’s head.

He had just started to fly down through the smoke when he heard Conner scream. He looked up just in time to see Conner fall from the sky and hit the ground hard. But he didn’t stop screaming.

“Shit.” Dick flew over at once and grabbed Conner. “Sparrowhawk, retreat!”

Tim ripped the head off the disabled robot and turned back toward Gotham at once.

*

Tim arrived back at the Cave a little before Dick and Conner did. He tossed the robot head in the lab before rushing to medical and getting a bed ready just as Dick flew in, Conner in his arms. Conner was crying, struggling against Dick’s hold.

“Dad!” Dick shouted. “Dad, help!”

Bruce was down in the cave a few minutes later. Conner was thrashing, screaming in agony, and it was all Dick could do to hold him down.

“What happened?” Bruce demanded, shouting to be heard over Conner’s cries.

“He got hit with something,” Dick said. “It’s made everything worse...so much worse.” He looked at Bruce with wide eyes. “Help him. Please”

Conner screamed again, so loud Tim realized they’d be able to hear it upstairs. He flinched back against it.

Bruce’s mouth barely twitched in worry before he was kneeling next to Conner, trying to catch his wrist enough to get a pulse. It took several tries before Dick finally forced Conner to hold still, restraining him with his superstrength barely well enough for Bruce to take vitals.

Clark came in a moment later and was at Conner’s side in seconds. “Bruce…”

“I’m working on it,” Bruce snapped, moving over to the medicine cabinet.

Conner screamed more, wrenching his wrist from Dick’s grasp to reach for Clark. “Papa,” he gasped. “Papa, please…”

Clark caught his hand, holding it tight. “Bruce, do somethin’!” he demanded, a sob lingering at the edge of his voice.

“I’m doing it!” Bruce glanced back to glare at Clark. “If you aren’t going to be useful, you can leave.”

“Papa…” Conner’s grip tightened and Tim flinched as he heard an audible crack from Clark’s hand, though Clark’s expression didn’t change.

“I’ve got you,” Clark said. “Yer gonna be okay, sweetheart…”

“Let me die,” Conner begged. “Please just let me die!”

“No,” Clark said. “No, we ain’t lettin’ that happen...just hold on, baby…”

Bruce came back over. “Hold him still,” he ordered.

Conner screamed again as Dick shifted, forcing his shoulders down. He thrashed against him as Bruce readied a syringe full of silver liquid.

“Bruce, what is that?” Clark demanded.

“The only thing I have that might help.”

Conner flinched away, Dick barely able to keep him on the bed. Clark squeezed his hand and petted his hair back. “It’s okay...he’s gonna help.”

Conner quieted a little and Tim moved over, forcing his other arm down. Tim did his best to hold it still, fighting Conner’s strength and fear as Bruce moved close. Finally, he managed to press the needle into the vein.

Conner quieted slowly. His pulse rate went down and his breathing eased marginally. After a few moments, his eyes slid shut as he finally passed out, breathing ragged.

Clark looked up at Bruce. “What did y’give him?” he asked, voice calm but hands shaking.

“Same thing I give you when you get your ass kicked,” Bruce said. “It’s a triple dose of oxycontin mixed with silver Kryptonite.”

“So yer solution t’him bein’ poisoned is t’give him more poison?” Clark demanded.

“It’s what I have,” Bruce said. “There isn’t much that penetrates your skin, and a triple dose is as high as I’m willing to go, Kryptonian or not.”

Clark sighed, gently extracting his hand from Conner’s.

“Did he break it?” Tim asked.

“Yeah, but it’ll be fine tomorrow,” Clark said.

“Should I call Cassie to take him home?” Dick asked.

“Keep him here,” Bruce said. “I want to keep an eye on him...make sure the dosage wasn’t too high and that whatever hit him doesn’t have any lingering side effects.” He went to Clark and started setting his hand. “You should go back to sleep.”

Clark shook his head. “I’ll sit with him.”

“Clark…”

“I’m pregnant, not invalid, and I ain’t leavin’ my boy when he needs me.”

“Tim and I can…”

“Bruce.”

Bruce nodded. “Okay.” He pulled up a second chair and moved very close, wrapping his arm around Clark’s shoulders.

Tim moved to the couch on the other side of the room. He wasn’t going to leave the Cave until he knew Conner would be all right. Dick joined him a moment later, looking exhausted as he pulled off his mask.

“He’s not going to get better, is he?” Dick asked.

Tim shook his head. “No...I don’t think he is.”

*

The night was horribly long. Tim was on his sixth cup of coffee and Dick had fallen asleep in his lap hours before Conner began to stir.

Clark was alert at once. “Kon?”

Conner moaned faintly.

“Sweetheart, y’with us?”

“Papa?” Conner’s eyes opened slowly.

Clark sighed in relief. “How y’feelin’?”

“I feel like I got creamed with a cement truck full of kryptonite,” Conner muttered.

“Not far off,” Bruce said. “He’s learning.”

Tim very carefully moved Dick off of him and headed for the lab. “I think he put kryptonite directly in the robots’ weapons systems,” he called as he picked up the head. “But I only got a partial sample...unless Oracle got someone out to retrieve the rest of it?”

“It’ll be in the hands of someone scarier than us by now,” Bruce said. “I’ll call Jason and see if he’s got any ideas of how to recover it.”

Tim nodded. “I’ll be running tests on what I have then,” he said. “Papa, you’d better take Kon out of here...there’s probably going to be a lot of residue flying around.”

“Alright...can y’stand?”

Conner groaned, but he did manage to get up with Clark’s help. Clark very carefully guided him back to the elevator upstairs.

Bruce sighed and glanced at Dick. “I want to run tests on you and Dicky as well...you might both be covered in residue and not noticed yet.”

“Yeah, okay,” Tim said, but he was already getting to work.

“Do you need help?”

“No,” Tim said. “I’ve got it.”

Bruce nodded. “All right...I’ll just run blood tests then.”

*

Hours later, Tim finally put the robot head down. “I at least know what he’s using,” he said.

“Progress,” Bruce said. “And I was right, he’s put kryptonite on the things.”

“I know,” Tim said. “Not enough to hurt us under most circumstances, but…”

“Enough to down Conner if he’s hit enough,” Bruce said. “Maybe Damian and I should handle this.”

“It’s our case, Dad,” Tim said. “Maybe Conner and I shouldn’t be on the front lines, but you’re not taking it off either Cassandra.”

“He’s beaten your entire team, Tim. You’re going to need more than chutzpah and explosions on this.”

“We use more than that!” Tim protested.

Bruce raised his eyebrow.

“We do!” Tim insisted. “The explosions aren’t usually planned!”

“Trust me,” Bruce muttered. “I’m all too aware of that.”

“Look,” Tim said. “I’ve broken down what he’s using. I can probably come up with something to counteract it in a few days.”

“Fine,” Bruce said. “But sleep first. And if either of you gets hurt to this point again, I will pull your team off the case and handle it myself.”

“We’re not kids anymore!” Tim protested. “Steph and I are married, Conner would be if threeway weddings were legal, I run your company...you can’t just keep treating us like a bunch of rookie teenagers!”

“This isn’t about age,” Bruce said. “This is about not wanting to see my kids get hurt!”

Tim struggled a moment. “Just...give us a chance,” he said. “We can’t quit on it just because we’re hurt or scared or stuck...my team needs this...I need this.”

Bruce closed his eyes. “Tim…”

“Dad, please.”

“Fine,” Bruce said. “But you know that you don’t need to prove yourself.”

Tim looked away. “I’ve already failed too many times,” he said. “Don’t make me fail this one, too.”

Bruce moved closer and hugged him. “You haven’t failed,” he said. “You have never failed me.”

*

It was late summer by the time Clark went into labor. The children were chivvied upstairs to wait, away from the noise in the Batcave.

Terry seemed overly distressed at not having his parents or Kara with him, and Tim sympathized. He knew that Alfred kept everyone out during births for a reason, but it was still nerve-wracking to have to wait, without supersenses to tell them what was going on.

“It shouldn’t take as long,” Dick said soothingly, petting Terry’s hair to calm him. “Baby number six should be the easiest thing in the world.”

“He’s in his *fifties*,” Steph pointed out. “Even for Superman, that can’t be healthy.”

“He doesn’t age, though,” Tim said. “And if anything goes wrong, we’ll know.”

Dick nodded. “I think this has been the easiest pregnancy he’s ever had,” he said.

“I wasn’t bad, was I?” Jon asked, genuine concern in his eyes.

“No, but there’s a reason The Iron Giant is banned from the house,” Dick answered. “This one’s been fine.”

“Come on,” Barbara said. “I’ll get the Monopoly board, that will help us not worry.”

“Ah yes, because violence is a good way to not worry,” Steph said drily.

“There has not been a board-game related casualty in years,” Damian said. “Not said Father forbade us playing Trivial Pursuit, anyway.”

“I still say you cheated,” Tim grumbled.

“He didn’t cheat,” Cass said. “You just don’t know history as well as you think you do.”

“Hey, hey!” Barbara snapped. “Let’s not start that again, please.”

Tim glowered, but didn’t object as they set up the Monopoly board.

“All house rules in effect,” Barbara said. “Mock trials may continue as long as necessary, most current building codes prevail, and Batman is not considered a reliable witness in disputes.”

“Can someone explain the squatter’s rights rule again?” Jon asked.

“If you are unable to afford rent on a property that has had no maintenance performed, you may skip your next three turns and then take ownership of the property if the owner does not improve, trade, or sell it and if no one else lands on the property,” Damian reeled off. “A trial will be held if any of those circumstance occur, or if the owner decides to challenge the squatter after three turns.”

Steph shook her head. “I thought this game was complicated before I started playing with you,” she mumbled. “Do you make your own Chance cards as well?”

“Naturally,” Dick said. “Just make sure to put houses and hotels up regularly so you don’t get dinged by the city for failing to comply with the building codes.”

“But you do get to arbitrarily raise rent to cover costs,” Tim added. “So long as you give proper written notice to any occupants.”

They were six hours into the game--Jon had already dropped out and Steph was starting to lose badly, Damian had broken a knife on Tim’s thigh in a jail fight, Terry had fallen asleep chewing on Dick’s last hundred dollar bill and Barbara was quietly embezzling as much money as she could justify--when the door finally opened and Alfred came in.

The ongoing trial regarding unfair manipulation of the housing market came to an abrupt halt as all eyes turned on him.

“I am pleased to announce the arrival of a daughter,” Alfred said.

All animosity was forgotten as Dick let out a whoop, Terry woke up and started crying at once, and everyone else was on their feet immediately.

Alfred held up his hand. “Master Clark requests that you all remain upstairs for the time being. He is very tired, and your sister is healthy but small. He should be more receptive to visitors tomorrow.”

“Her name?” Tim asked.

Alfred almost smiled. “Your father declared that she is the most beautiful baby girl ever born...so he named her Helena.”

*

Tim marvelled at the tiny weight in his hands. “I had no idea she’d be so warm.”

Clark looked slightly worried. “She’s colder than the rest’a y’all were,” he said. “Smaller, too.”

“I was small,” Tim pointed out.

“You’re still small,” Steph said.

Tim stuck his tongue out at her.

Clark shook his head and took the baby back. “Kara says she’s also not as strong as Jon and Terry were...and Alfred said her vitals ain’t the same, either.”

“Maybe being conceived at the end of time affected her power set somehow,” Tim suggested. “Or maybe you’re just too old to be having babies anymore.”

“I’ve been sayin’ that fer the last eight years,” Clark said. “But yellow sun radiation don’t seem t’care.”

“Bruce doesn’t care, either,” Steph muttered.

Tim and Clark both went red.

“Well, powers or not, she’s perfect,” Tim said hastily.

“She is.” Clark kissed Helena’s forehead and she let out a contented baby sigh. “She really is.”

*

“I think I’ve made a breakthrough.”

“Is that why you haven’t slept in forty-eight hours, Master Tim?”

Tim blinked and glanced around. The lab was a mess, coffee cups and Red Bull cans scattered among robot parts and chemicals. “Huh?”

Alfred sighed from the doorway. “You have been in the lab for two days without pause, food or sunlight. Your family is beginning to worry.”

“But...where did the coffee come from?”

“I’ve been replenishing it every fifteen minutes...except in the hours when I was asleep, when Master Jon has been very graciously aiding the efforts.”

“Oh...thanks, Alfred.” Tim picked up the weapon he’d been modifying. “Worth it to get this, though.”

“And what, pray tell, is that?”

“It’s a bo staff, but I’ve kitted it out with the same stuff he’s using on his robots. It should be able to at least hit them without breaking...better than grenades, anyway.”

“I see...and you’ve made a thorough test of this?”

“Not yet, but I was about to go cause trouble to get the chance...and I think I’ve found a way to break down this chemical.”

“Master Tim, I suggest you sleep before you do anything more.”

“I don’t need to sleep!”

“You do,” Alfred said. “I have received orders from your father that you are to be put to bed immediately, even if I have to call all of your brothers to make it happen.”

“My brothers don’t scare me.”

“Fine.” Alfred turned. “I’ll get your wife and sister.”

Tim stood up. “I’ll get to bed.”

*

Tim heard the shouting the moment he woke up one morning about nine months after Helena’s birth. Well. It might have been morning. Steph wasn’t in bed, so it was probably late.

“You let Damian be Robin and I’ve already been on the field!”

“This ain’t ‘bout Damian, Jon, this is ‘bout you, and I ain’t gonna put y’on the field til yer ten! That’s the rule!”

“I’m going to be ten soon, why not now?”

“It wouldn’t be fair t’yer brothers, they all had t’wait.”

“And they all got to be Robin! I’m never going to be Robin, so why not let me keep working?”

Tim sighed and got up, heading toward the kitchen. Clark and Jon were having their shouting match over the table, while Bruce did his level best to ignore them. Then again, it was still before noon, so there was a good chance Bruce didn’t actually know it was happening.

Alfred handed Tim a cup of coffee at once. “I’m surprised it took this long to wake you,” he said in an undertone.

Tim shrugged. “Shouting’s not unusual around here.” He ruffled Jon’s hair as he sat down.

That, at least, seemed to end the shouting. Jon pouted. “Tim, I did good as Superboy, right?”

“Well, you did take orders well and get Damian out,” Tim said. “Though I think both Conner and I told you you shouldn’t have been there.”

“None’a y’all should’ve been there,” Clark said. “And this ain’t a family discussion.”

“It’s never a family discussion,” Tim pointed out with a slight edge to his voice. “You let me and Conner be put in uniform before we hit puberty and you fired me without even asking Dick about it first.”

“I didn’t fire you, I told y’t’see a therapist. You decided t’run off on yer own.”

“Because you don’t get it!” Tim was angry now, glaring at Clark. “You don’t understand what it means to want something that badly because you can just have it! You never had to prove anything to anyone, so you can’t understand that some of us do! And you don’t know what it’s like to watch your brothers be something that you can never be, all because the guy in the cape gets to decide you aren’t ready without considering it first!”

Clark blinked and Bruce looked up from pretending to read the paper. “Tim, that’s enough,” Bruce said sharply.

“No, it’s not enough!” Jon was back to shouting again too. “I want a chance too, but no one will ever give me one because I’m always too young and I don’t have any promise I’ll ever get my chance! I’m sick of everyone treating me like a baby who can’t do anything! I can be as good as Tim or Conner or Dami, but no one will let me!”

Clark sighed and took off his glasses to rub at his forehead. “Jon,” he said, forcing himself into a more patient tone. “This ain’t ‘bout how old y’are. If I’d had my way, none’a y’all would’a put on a costume ‘til y’all were adults, but that wasn’t my decision.” He shot a glare at Bruce, who had the decency to look slightly guilty, even though Tim knew that argument had been won years ago. “I don’t wanna see y’git hurt, ‘specially after what happened t’Damian.”

Tim did feel a pang at that, though he kept his mouth shut.

“But,” Clark continued. “Y’did do well at the Cradle, and even before that I’d seen y’do well in trainin’. So...if y’do well next semester at school and git straight A’s, I’ll lower the age bar and let y’start this winter. That a good enough compromise?”

Jon sighed. “I guess.”

Clark looked at Bruce hopelessly. Bruce shrugged. “Don’t look at me. I had to deal with the Robin battle when Tim was his age.”

“At least Conner and I didn’t fight over it too much.”

“No, but you were both far too eager to be in uniform.”

“Uniforms you gave us.”

Bruce rolled his eyes. “Meeting over,” he growled.

*

“Okay...team.” Tim was passing out weapons with the air of an excited puppy. “He might have kryptonite, but if this goes according to plan, we should be able to break down most of the robots’ protection.”

“And then?” Batgirl asked. “Arrest him as usual?”

“Pretty much,” Tim said. “Superman has better things to be worrying about, but he will jump in if we need him to.” He turned toward the zeta tubes. “All right…”

“Sparrowhawk?” Conner said. “We’re one weapon short.”

There was a nasty silence for a moment. Tim bit his lip. “I was hoping you could run the comms on this one,” he said.

The moment he said it, Tim knew he’d fucked up. Conner’s eyes turned red in anger and if Tim wasn’t wearing armor, he might actually be afraid.

Wonder Girl put a hand on Conner’s shoulder. “Kon…”

“I’m not helpless!” Conner shouted. Tim dodged as Conner’s heat vision shot at him. “I can fight with you!”

“The last time you fought him, you ended up drugged in the Batcave for three days,” Tim snapped. “I can’t have you be a liability to the team!”

Conner swung at him, but Wonder Girl caught his arm before he could hit. “Kon!” she snapped.

“This is my fight as much as yours, Tae!” Kon said. “You’re not the goddamned Batman and you can’t just shut me out!”

“I’m the leader of this team!” Tim said. “And I don’t have time to argue about it. Either man the comms or go home.”

Conner glared for a moment.

“There’s no shame in it, Kon.” Spoiler’s voice was quiet, but steady. “There are more important things than being on the field.”

“You…”

“Spent three months apprenticing with Oracle when I was hurt,” Spoiler cut in. “You can still be a hero, Flamebird. You don’t have to punch people to do that.”

There was a tense moment of silence before Conner stomped away to the console and put on the headset.

Tim nodded and turned. “Come on, then,” he said. He didn’t look back as they zeta-ed out to the streets of Metropolis.

“I’ve been expecting you.”

The voice was bland, unplaceable, just another male voice. Tim had his newly modified weapons out at once as a dozen robots descended on them. His team fell into formation--slightly tighter without Conner’s bulk there, but still perfectly in place. “You have the chance to surrender,” Tim called. “...whoever you are.”

Their villain--and why did nothing have a proper name anymore?--rolled his eyes. “Honestly, this is ridiculous,” he said. “No one can make an honest living, and now no one can even make a dishonest living! Everything we try to do, we’re stopped by some asshole in tights!”

Spoiler growled. “Cut the crap. Who are you working for?”

“Phil” blinked. “I’m not working for anyone!” he snapped. “I’m making my own way, with my own smarts!

“Not too many of them,” Impulse said. “And where’s your gimmick?”

“Phil” threw his hands up in the air. “Honestly!” he shouted. “This is why people don’t take crime seriously anymore! Everyone has to be out there with a mask and a thing on his head and a bunch of stupid puns waiting to be picked up by someone with an even stupider theme! And now everyone keeps telling me I need to do it too? What is this, Gotham?!”

“Okay, that’s fair,” Spoiler said. “But you’re making things too weirdly specific for you to just be...a guy.”

“Why?” “Phil” asked. “Why do I need to have a costume and a dumb name? Why can’t I just be another anonymous ne’er-do-well?”

“Because…” Tim stopped. “Because that’s how it works! There’s...rules to this! You can’t just…”

“Why not?” “Phil” gave Tim a reasonably wicked grin. “I’ve already beaten you, many times...why can’t I just be what I am?”

“Because what you are is a criminal!” Wonder Girl drew her modified sword. “And it doesn’t matter who you are or what your name is, because what you are is evil!”

Tim readied his bo staff. “Exactly,” he said. “The gimmicks...the names...they’re just that. They’re what we represent...but what we are is heroes.” He flew up. “Celestials, go!”

They leaped in, moving in the rhythms they’d always known. Tim struck a robot with his staff and grinned when the robot broke instead of his weapons for once, in a beautiful explosion of green sparks. Tim barely paused to cough a bit as he flew over to the next one.

He could hear shouting and explosions around him, and the air was quickly fogging up with some form of kryptonite gas, but Tim kept moving, hitting every robot he could in spite of the haze.

“Sparrowhawk, position!”

“Almost done, Flamebird! We’re getting them!” Tim had to pause then. He was starting to get dizzy and out of breath. It only took a moment before he was moving again.

“You’re going to choke to death!”

“I’m fine!” Tim coughed as he hit another robot a few times before it exploded, adding more fog.

Conner didn’t answer, but Tim didn’t have time to wonder. He could barely see now, striking out blindly. He was falling from the air, down, down…

And someone caught him, strong and familiar arms speeding him out of the fog, away from the fight. Tim struggled for barely a moment before he collapsed into coughing. It took only a moment before he was put down on the ground.

“Wait here.” Tim started to protest, to reach out, but Conner had already wrenched the bo staff from his hand and flown back into the flight.

Tim must have passed out, because the next thing he knew, he was being lifted again. “Happened?” he mumbled.

“We won.” That was Steph, her voice low and gentle. “Batgirl’s taken Mr. I-Don’t-Need-A-Gimmick in, and Wonder Girl’s taking Flambird back to the Cave...which is where you’re going as soon as Superman gets here. And Impulse is handling the cleanup...the Titans are helping, and Nightwing and Superboy are keeping the area secure...a good ways away.”

“Okay.” Tim swallowed heavily. “Is Flamebird…?”

“He was breathing when Wonder Girl took him out of here,” Spoiler said.

“Good,” Tim said. “Cause I’m gonna kill him.”

*

It took hours before Bruce let Tim out of medical, and even then he was given strict instructions to “rest, dammit.”

It was just as well. Tim had developed one hell of a migraine from the kryptonite exposure, and while Bruce was sure it would all be out of his system in the morning, it was still exhausting.

Steph carried him upstairs, for which Tim was grateful. Physical pain was so rare that every instance of it was cause for alarm.

How did Conner stand having it constantly?

Steph put Tim straight to bed and lay down beside him, petting his hair. “You sure you don’t want the kryptoxy?”

“Positive,” Tim murmured. “I don’t like not having my brain work.”

“Tim...you’ve been working on this problem non-stop for over a year. You’ve locked yourself in the cave for half the time we’ve been married...did you even know Helena started walking last week?”

Tim blinked. “Steph…”

“I’m not mad,” she said. “Just...you can let go now. You can relax.”

Tim exhaled heavily. “I don’t know how...just make the pain stop.”

“Okay.” Steph kissed him deeply. “I can do that. Just...please don’t judge?”

“I won’t.” Tim reached up and pushed her top up. “I love you.”

The pain went away very quickly.

*

Tim waited until Conner had been sent home to Bludhaven before he followed to shout at him.

“What were you thinking?!”

Conner flinched. “A good morning would be nice,” he said.

Tim glared at his brother. “I told you to stay behind for a reason!” he said. “You had a job and you disobeyed!”

“You aren’t my boss, Tim!” Conner glared at him over his coffee cup. “And you were dying! I couldn’t just sit there and do nothing!”

“I would have been fine! I had my team with me!”

“They were busy!” Conner stood up, towering over Tim. “And I’m part of your team too...we’ve always been a team, together! Robin and Superboy! You can’t cut me out that way!”

“I didn’t want you to suffer!” Tim shouted. “I was trying to…”

“To what?” Conner’s face was softening a bit. “To save me? To be the hero?”

Tim looked away. “It’s what I know how to do,” he said. “It’s what I am.”

“It’s what I am, too.” Conner sighed heavily. “I’m Superman’s kid, too. It’s been in our blood from the start. And you can’t take that away from me.”

“I wasn’t trying to,” Tim said. “I just…”

“Tim…” Conner struggled a moment. “Not everyone needs to be saved. Some people...we make choices and we fuck ourselves up, and the last thing we want is someone coming in to try and rescue us. I never wanted to be rescued.”

Tim laughed a bit. “Sure you’re not Bruce’s kid?”

“Fuck no, I’m not,” Conner said. “But you definitely are.”

“And to think I yelled at Dick for trying to be like him.”

“Don’t feel bad. Being a control-freak with a martyr complex is genetic.”

“Great. You get the cool telepathic powers, we get guilt and OCD.”

Conner shrugged. “I suppose that’s the trade-off for being the result of major trauma.”

“Yeah.”

They fell silent, awkward, uncertain, just hanging there with so much more between them.

“So…Celestials?” Conner said after a moment.

Tim shrugged. “Seemed like a good name.”

“I like it,” Conner said. “Way more awesome and mature than I’m and ADULT! Justice.”

“Yeah,” Tim said. “Makes us sound way cooler than we are.”

“I dunno,” Conner said. “Sparrowhawk’s pretty cool, even if he can be an ass.”

“Yeah, well,” Tim said. “Flamebird’s cool too, even though he’s an idiot.”

“They balance each other pretty well.”

“Yeah,” Tim said. “And Spoiler can always save Sparrowhawk…like Wonder Girl and Impulse will save Flamebird, if he needs it.”

“Yeah,” Conner said.

They went quiet again, but it was a calmer, more natural silence.

“I guess...I should go,” Tim said.

Conner shrugged. “No reason...you haven’t hung out with me in a while. Why not just...chill?”

“What?” Tim said.

“Stay,” Conner said. “Tim...please...for once...can we just be brothers again?”

“I…” Tim swallowed and went over to sit next to Conner. “Okay.” He stole the coffee cup from the table and knocked it back. Conner rolled his eyes and turned on Netflix, and Tim found that Steph was right.

He could relax now.


End file.
